Family Date Day

Daniel's work schedule has been much improved (especially in regards to family life) since he left Nuclear and started working in Dam Safety last fall, but there are still periods that get a little crazy. Especially if he has any additional training he has to squeeze in.

We are in one of those periods right now. But thankfully he was able to take advantage of his more flexible schedule and take a day off in the middle of the week. So yesterday we embraced the mid-week sunshine and having Daniel home in order to have a family fun day.

First off we asked Jack if he wanted daddy to drop him off. Jack said, "No. I want daddy to drop me off AND pick me up." Silly boy.

After preschool drop off, Daniel came back to pick me and Isaac up and then we headed downtown to grab breakfast at one of our favorite spots, The Bluegrass Grill. They did not disappoint. Plus they brought a whole bucket of toys to keep Isaac occupied.

Once we finished breakfast, we walked back to our car, which happened to be parked next to the Electric Bike Specialists shop. Isaac adores bikes so we couldn't resist popping in to admire the machines. The guys working in the shop immediately offered to let us take a test ride. Then proceeded to get out a cargo bike with baby carrier AND a bike helmet for Isaac. It took a few tries to get the right size for him (our kids have huge heads), but a helmet was found and Daniel and Isaac took a spin around the block. When they returned, I took a turn as well. It was pretty cool. We found out that these expensive bikes can also be rented for $15/hour or $60/day and there is no limit to how far you ride them. We also learned about some trails we had been curious to try mountain biking with the kids and it was exciting to know we might be able to do some of those trips sooner rather than later. I have a feeling we will be back to rent bikes sometime – in a hilly place like Chattanooga, an electric bike could definitely be an asset!

After the bike shop, we headed home to load up our kayaks and then pick up Jack from preschool. The weather was gorgeous. It has rained a lot here lately, so we felt like we needed to take the boys out to a flat water lake to test the newest kayak.

We weren't sure about the current and water levels of local creeks. So we decided to go to Chester Frost Lake since we are familiar with it and it is very kid friendly.

It was a good decision. The water was calm and there was no boat traffic since it was the middle of the week. Daniel started out giving Jack a mini pep talk about how to paddle and then Jack just took off. It was a lot like how he learned how to ride his bike... he just kind of did it.

To be fair, he has been handling his own paddle since last year, so it wasn't a completely new thing. But he had never paddled alone. The kayak we got him for his birthday is really light and very easy to maneuver.

He had no probably making turns and paddling around. He even jumped in a couple of times and was able to pull himself back up.

He was also able to paddle in the shallow water with Isaac riding on the back. I think they both enjoyed this set up.

We piddled around, with Daniel, Isaac and I in the big kayak and Jack paddling solo. Then Jack and I got out of the water and Daniel and Isaac paddled for a bit. Isaac almost fell asleep in his daddy's lap (it was nap time after all).

I tried sitting in Jack's kayak, but the weight limit is 130. I'm a bit more than that 😂 The boat floated, but barely. Let's just say I got plenty wet!

Isaac hung out with me on the shore for a bit while Jack built a sandcastle and snorkeled. I was hoping he would nap, but he was content to snack.

Daniel paddled across the lake to check out an abandoned boat before coming back and trading spots with me. Isaac did nap for him, but only for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile Jack and I paddled around the edge of the lake, about halfway to the abandoned boat.

*The orange circle is Jack and I paddling to the point.

Jack thinks he must be the best 5-year-old paddler ever. I told him *may be* one of the best 5-year-olds we know. He isn't lacking confidence, that's for sure! We also discussed future overnight paddling trips, which I am very excited about.

Isaac also wanted a turn to sit and paddle. He was content to hold the paddle and let me tow him around the shallows. I'm pretty sure he will be up for trying anything Jack does, and we have a feeling it won't be too long before we need to buy another kid's kayak.

It is always exciting when our kids seem to enjoy the hobbies we love. We feel like we are on the brink of doing some really fun stuff. Right now we are still in the teaching stages so it sometimes feels like a lot of piddling, but it won't be long until we can go farther and do even more. And that is very exciting!

I'm so thankful that Daniel was able to take yesterday off. Today it is cold and rainy and I am flying solo. Hopefully the kids will remember these days and not the days when we are busy with the busyness of everyday life.

Moving

Moving Day was exactly one week ago. I feel like I have been treading water for the last two weeks, trying to stay afloat in the craziness of it all.

We closed on our house last Thursday without too much hassle. 

Since Daniel has been working very long hours and was sick on Valentines weekend, I requested that we have a family date on closing day. Daniel took the day off from work and we started the day with breakfast the BlueGrass Grill in downtown Chattanooga. 

This is one of our favorite breakfast places and eating there in the middle of the week meant no wait. Jack liked it as well – he helped finish off Daniel's stack of strawberry pancakes.

After breakfast, Daniel dropped Jack and I at the Creative Discovery Museum for some playtime while he went to get stuff from one of our two storage sheds. He also had to get our check for closing that afternoon.

Jack had a blast playing. On this particular trip he was most focused on the art room. It's interesting to me that when he went to the museum with Daniel a few weeks ago, they mostly played with the water tables, working the dams and locks. 

This time it was all about drawing and clay – of his own choosing.

When Daniel picked us up, we hurried back up to Signal Mountain to drop Jack at our friend's house. Moving without some kind of support system would be a nightmare (especially with a toddler). We are so thankful for friends and family that have helped us out.

After dropping Jack off, Daniel and I went to the final walk through at our new house. Thankfully everything that we requested to be done had been completed.

While Daniel made sure things were in working order, I did a quick run through and made notes on where I thought furniture should go. Moving into a new house with a new layout takes a lot of mental gymnastics.

Once we were satisfied with the walk through, we headed across town to the actual closing. Closings are kind of weird. You sit face to face with strangers and talk about your finances. At least the seller seemed nice. In a strange twist, the couple we purchased the house from was moving next door to the cottage we have been staying at since the first of January.

As soon as closing was done and we had our keys, we thanked our realtor profusely for letting us drag her to so many houses and then we found a Starbucks. We were both exhausted and felt like celebrating with caffeine. I realized later that night that Daniel and I completely missed lunch.

With coffees in hand, we made a stop at Home Depot for paint... where we had the following experience:

Daniel and I split up. I headed straight for the paint samples while Daniel went to grab other paint related items. While looking at samples, a sales person approached me and asked, "Are YOU GUYS homeowners?" Since I was by myself I ignored the sales guy. He tried again, "What kind of projects are YOU GUYS doing?"

I looked up and realized there was a guy next to me, also looking at paint. Feeling sorry for the sales guy, I made eye contact and said something along the lines of, "Well, for starters, our projects are at different houses."

The sales guy was a bit embarrassed for assuming me and the other guy were together. But not to be deterred, he asked again if either of us were homeowners. The other guy copped out and said, "No." I said, "yes" and waited for the inevitable sales pitch... "You planning on doing a kitchen renovation any time soon?" I had a good answer to this question: "Actually, no. I just bought a house and it has an amazing kitchen!" The sales guy immediately told me, "Congratulations."

At this time Daniel walked up behind me and the sales guy proceeded to say, "Oh, I know about you, you just closed on your house 2 hours ago! Again, congratulations." And he walked off. His comment surprised me because I didn't share that level of detail. It turns out that the guy had already talked to Daniel.

Upon leaving Home Depot and heading back up to Signal Mountain to get Jack, we stopped to pick up pizza to share with our friends. 

Jack had had a wonderful afternoon playing and it was nice that we didn't have to worry about him while we took care of business. We are so thankful to have good friends that live close by that could share our special day with us.

When we finally got back to our rental cottage, Daniel put Jack to bed and I changed clothes and headed over to the new house where I started painting Jack's new room. I wanted to get the walls primed before the movers showed up with our stuff, so I painted until the wee hours of the night.

It has been a trying week as we work to get settled. There are so many boxes to unpack and work to be done, but we are incredibly grateful that we are starting to feel settled in our new-to-us home. I think I am going to mark #79 off my life list (own a cabin in the woods... I think this house basically fits that criteria, though definitely not a log cabin).

Incline Railway: My {Very Late} Birthday Present

Very late may be a bit generous of a descriptor since this was supposed to be my birthday present LAST YEAR. Just 11 months late, but who's counting?

Last year Daniel surprised me with a trip to Chattanooga for a birthday breakfast at the BlueGrass Grill and a proposed trip to the top of Lookout Mountain on the Incline Railway. The only problem was that it was really foggy and we didn't feel like the views would be worth it. 

Plus I was almost 9 months pregnant and the thought of going into labor on the steepest train in the United State, while ascending a mountain didn't seem like the best idea...

At the time, we did take a scenic drive up Lookout Mountain and I experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions. However, Jack did not show up for another week.

Anyways, I recently informed Daniel that he better figure out when he could take me to the Incline Railway since my birthday is fast approaching and he still owed me a trip. So on Friday, we headed to Chattanooga for a day of family fun.

We really needed that time together. We have both been busy with work and home improvement projects; then last week a friend of ours died unexpectedly. It just felt right for us to take some time to be together as a family.

We made it to the base of the Incline Railway in time to make one of the last trips to the top. This railway is the steepest in the United States. At the top the grade is 74% – which is kind of nuts! The track splits halfway up the mountain so a train going the opposite direction can pass.

We enjoyed our scenic ride up the mountain. We only had about 30 minutes at the top since it was late in the day. It was probably the perfect amount of time for Jack. I think he had a good time riding the train.

After our railway experience, we headed downtown to attend the Three Sisters Bluegrass festival at the Riverfront. We decided to eat The Blue Plate Diner, which is right behind the grassy area where everyone sits for the concert. We even scored a table on the patio without having to wait too long. We had a lovely dinner and finished it off by splitting a slice of their Moon Pie Cheesecake for dessert.

This is our second year to attend Three Sisters -- it is very family and dog friendly event that happens to be free. We ended up leaving about 9 eastern since Jack was falling asleep in our arms; despite his best efforts to stay awake to watch all of the kids, dogs and general concert craziness. I'm sure that we will be back in the future.

It was a good day. We are trying to be more proactive about not spending our ENTIRE weekends doing things that can wait. We want to make more concerted efforts to spend time together doing things we love. Sometimes the chores can wait.